A Castle of Ashes (The Fifth Kingdom Book 2) (8 page)

“You helped me gain the power to restore the Kingdom, Matthew.  You were just as much a part of fulfilling the prophecy as I was.  Our lives seem to be intertwined by the shadows.  I never felt the Ancient Queen’s presence before I came to the West.  I knew
something in your kingdom triggered her memories and spirit in me.  Her memories were so vivid and her presence so strong. My powers were strong as a result.”  She closed her eyes and thought of the prophecy.  “
Her Strength sought in the West.
  That is what the prophecy foretold, but it was not your kingdom that was the trigger to bring me into power.” She opened her eyes to meet his. “It was you.  I have thought about it for some time now. For that first year after I was gone into the sea, I saw you every night.  For a while I had dreams of you calling for me in the water. You were calling for me and I could say nothing in response before the waters consumed us both. Why you? Why not your brother, or your father or anyone else from the West?  It was only you I saw night after night!  I could not understand how you had such a hold on my mind when we knew each other only a short time.” His face softened at her words and she stepped closer to him.  “Then I knew that it must have been you that I was meant to meet in the West. You ignited her spirit and her power in me and
we
restored the Kingdom. Now, I fear that the Ancient Queen’s presence will take hold of me once more if I allow you in my life again.”

“I ignite her spirit in you.”  He said more as a statement than a question. He looked to the floor. “I wondered ‘Why me’ sometimes too Lucinda.  That summer, I saw memories as well.  They were memories that were not my own, but of Nycilla’s prince, Thomas.  There were moments when my words were his.  They persisted for a year after your disappearance and I suffered through the same dream as you. All of it ceased shortly after the tower came out of the water all those years ago.  Since you saved me from Narka, the memories have returned, along with Thomas’ warnings.  Yes, he warns me sometimes when I am in danger.  I don’t know how, but I hear his voice in my head.   It seems that we are both triggers.  You bring forth Thomas’ spirit in me.”

“I am sorry for that.” She said gently.  His gaze was steady upon her. “The memories have come back to me after Narka as well, although Nycilla has never had the courtesy of warning me of anything.  Maybe it is best if her spirit returns to me. I have grown to fear her silence.  I wonder if she has truly left me or if she is just waiting for her time to appear again.” She shook the thought out of her mind.  “I am sorry for what happened to you in Narka.”

“You saved my life.  If you had come even a moment later—“ He shook his head. “How did you know I was there?”

“I didn’t.  I had seen a vision of you being pulled into the sea and then the sea brought me to you.  I don’t know why, but I am thankful it did.”

“As am I.” He pulled her mother’s necklace from his pocket. “Why did you give this to me?”

She hesitated. Why had she given it to him? “In my heart I knew it was time to make my return. I suppose I thought that if I gave you something of importance to me I would be driven to come back to you.”  He rose an eyebrow at her and she quickly corrected herself.  “I meant
come back to the land
and retrieve it.” He nodded slowly and extended the necklace out to her.  As she reached for it he gripped her hand. His eyes went to the gold band and emerald stone that ordained her finger.  She felt a blush come across her tanned cheeks.  It had survived her journey in the water and she had never taken it off.

You kept it.” He said softly.

“You were meant to bring it to me.  It belonged to Nycilla.  I have seen it in her memories.” 

“Is that the only reason you continue to wear it?”

“No.” She said simply, not trusting herself to say more. 

He kept her hand in his but said nothing in response.  She let the silence stand between them, not parting her eyes from his though his stare was unnerving. “I thought of you often these passed years.  I am not ashamed to admit it.” He started after some time. “A little less as the years went by, I suppose. Much less after my father passed, as I was sharply reminded of my duties then.  Yet every year at the anniversary of your disappearance, on our birthday, I would take a set of my men and search the sea for you.  We would aim for the castle in the water, yet the closer we felt we were getting to it, the further it looked.  Your magic, I assume.  Quite clever.” He tightened his grip of her hand. “Whether it be the will of the shadows or from my own heart and spirit, I needed to search for you.  Some days, I would wonder if it was all for naught. It was quite clear you did not want to be found.  As my brother would constantly tell me, if you were alive you would reveal yourself when and if you found fit.”  He shook his head in disbelief.  “And you finally have.  Even though you
fear me
, or more so, what we
ignite
in each other.” He looked at her curiously.  “So tell me.  Since these memories have returned to us, do you fear that the shadows are not finished with us yet?”

She intertwined her fingers into his. “I fear more of what they will do when they are.”  She said softly.

He pulled her toward him, closing the distance between them. He raised a hand to the side of her head and combed his fingers through her hair, before resting his hand at her neck.  His eyes became dark and he looked at her as if seeing her for the first time.  He gripped her throat.  “You plan to leave me again, don’t you?  Just as you did before. You will leave me again.” 

“No,” Lucinda said in confusion, struggling to get his arm away from her.  “You’re hurting me—“

“You have your kingdom back, and you have your followers. That’s all you truly wanted wasn’t it?”

“Matthew, stop!  Please—“

“You just used me to bring you back to power!” He slammed her against the stone wall.  “For centuries I searched for you!  I waited for you to return to me, as you promised! But you are not driven by our love.  You are driven by vengeance! You won’t be happy until you become all that they feared, will you?”

“Thomas,” Lucinda whispered.

He tightened his grip and she started to gasp for breath. “You want to be the one true Queen,” he said bitterly. “Then you will do it alone. I swear it, Nycilla, I won’t be part of the destruction to come!”

“I—am—not—Nycilla!” She said to him as she summoned the air around her and threw him backwards.  “Leave him Thomas!” She placed both hands on the side of his head and sent a shock through his body.  He looked up at her with remorseful eyes as he collapsed to the floor.

Lightening started to brighten the darkened room. Crackles of thunder and the sound of waves hitting the land outside filled her ears.  She turned toward the window at the sound of screams.  People were running away from the shores.

“What’s happening?”  Commander Jonathan was at the entrance of the chamber. “Princess?  What happened to him?”

Matthew’s eyes began to open. He sat up slowly and looked at her. “Lucinda—”

The screams became louder and the lightening more treacherous. “I have to go.”   She called to Matthew as she left the bedchamber.

She ran through the castle doors and headed for the Green Sea. The green of the sea had become black by the loss of sunlight.  The winds moved uncontrollably and massive, threatening black waves came crashing down.  Each one larger than the one before.   Lucinda entered the water and lifted her hands to the waves.  She was pushed back and covered by the force of one of them. The wave threatened to drag her by force into the water.  She struggled back to her feet, but the waves dragged her down again. Her father’s guards were coming from a distance.  They stared helplessly at the angry sea as they tried to calm the frightened people.

“Princess!” One of them reached out to her but a large wave knocked him off his feet. 

Matthew and Commander Jonathan had reached the shores, struggling with the wind and waves. The water seemed to be sucking her deeper into the sea.  “Lucinda!”  Matthew stepped into the shallow waters and reached out to her.
It’s Matthew. It is not Thomas.
She reassured herself as she grasped for his hand.  The wind picked up around them and she dragged him deeper into the water with her.  They both went under, but Matthew wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted them both to air.  She raised her hands toward the waters. A wave that was about to make its way hard on top of them stopped in the air and created a dark wall separating them from the sea. 

Commander Jonathan appeared behind them, deep into the water.   “What’s happening?”

“Don’t be afraid!” She said to them as they stared in awe at the wall of water.  In truth, she was afraid. Matthew tried to kill her.  No, Thomas tried to kill Nycilla, but why? 
I won’t be a part of the destruction to come.
He had said.  What did he mean? And now the sea, her faithful companion since she was a child, was challenging her with angry waves.  

“Don’t be afraid!” She repeated to them. Matthew tightened his grip around her. “Enough!” She said to the sea. “Enough!”  The waves and wind started to calm as she dropped her hands and let the wave crash down upon them.

Chapter 7

I didn’t want to hurt her, but when I looked into her eyes, I only saw my Queen. How will the people know the difference when the spirits struggle to tell them apart? You must protect her Matthew.  Even against herself.  The choice will be difficult.

Matthew opened his eyes.  Once again he was in a room he did not recognize.  The walls were a shiny black.  He looked out the window next to his bed.  The vegetation was turning from the green of summer to the yellow and orange of autumn. 
Where am I?
He thought.  He stepped out into the hallway and faced more black walls, creating long hallways surrounding him.  Embedded into the walls were small, green precious stones.  It was a stark contrast to the white kingdoms of the Green Sea.

“My lord, you are awake.”  He turned around quickly to face the voice that spoke.  The familiar green eyes and long blond waves of Lucinda’s governess faced him.

“Lady Geenessa?”  The governess had disappeared a few days following Lucinda’s disappearance seven years ago.  She was one of the many missing in the West Kingdom. 

“It is good to see you again, sweet Prince.  Welcome to our kingdom.”

“And what kingdom is that?”

She smiled warmly at him.  “You can call it what you like.  We call it
the
kingdom, others call it the center kingdom, the kingdom amidst the Green Sea, the Queen’s Kingdom or the Fifth Kingdom if you prefer.” 

Lucinda’s kingdom.
  He thought back to the last moment he remembered. He tried to hurt Lucinda.  Words that were not his own came out of him.
Thomas,
he thought.  Thomas had returned
. 
  Thomas tried to hurt her. 
I didn’t want to hurt her, but when I looked into her eyes I only saw my Queen.
He was angry at Nycilla for leaving him and not all of what he said was untrue to what Matthew felt.  A mix of relief, longing and bitterness came over him in seeing Lucinda again.  She was safe all these years.  She had prospered. Yet, she had willingly not returned to the people who cared for her.  She willingly did not return to him.  

She explained herself.  He was not being fair to her.  “How did I get here?”

“The sea brought you here.  You, your uncle and our Queen.  The sea was very unsettled.  We are uncertain what triggered it.”

The Sea.
Matthew thought.  They had almost drowned in sea.  “Where is Lucinda?  Is she hurt?”

Geenessa smiled at him.  “No, my lord.  She is not hurt. How are you feeling?”

The feeling of pain pulsating through his body came back to him. Lucinda had sent a tremor through him.  Her powers had grown since she’d been gone.  “I want to see her.”

“In time.  It would please me to show you her kingdom, my lord.  I will wait for you by the castle gate.”  She handed Matthew black garments and a water basin to wash up before leaving him. 

When he left the guest chamber again, he descended a black staircase, which led directly to a large open throne room.  It was crowded with people. A few guards and castle maids stopped as they caught sight of him.  They stared for a moment before averting their eyes.

In a distance, in the head of the room he saw her. Lucinda sat in the single throne, addressing inquires of her people. All the four kingdoms of the Green Sea had two allotted seats in the throne room. One was for the king and one for the queen. Occasionally, a third was brought in for a visiting monarch.  A single throne gave a sense of ultimate authority.  He smiled slightly seeing Lucinda upon the chair. Her black hair was up, out of her face. She looked stronger than she did before. The fear she used to carry in her green eyes was replaced with confidence and her voice was full of authority.    Matthew had always enjoyed the sound of her voice.  It was deeper than most maidens he knew; fitting for a queen.  Matthew had missed it. He had missed her. 

“Careful. The last man to look at her like that almost had his heart taken out.”  A man with thin eyes, and dark hair appeared beside him.  He seemed about Matthew’s age and stood a few inches shorter than he did.

“His heart? Eyes would seem more appropriate.”

“It was the confessions of his heart that displeased her more than his gaze.”  The man looked at him curiously. “My name is Zekiel, my lord.  I am commander of the second defense of the Queen’s kingdom.”

“The second defense?”

“This is a kingdom of many sorceresses but very few naturally born knights.  It is fitting that the sorceresses are the main guard, trained under our Queen and her governess.  She is our true defense.” He looked at Lucinda with yearning.  “We always feel safe under her rule.  We are merely here to support.”

Matthew began to introduce himself, but Zekiel cut into his words.  “I know who you are, Commander.  I keep guard of the sea. I have seen what ships have passed through here the past years trying to get to our kingdom in vain.  The ships of the West were the most persistent.  I made it a point to inquire about the Commander of the Western guard.”

Zekiel’s face was not unkind but he looked at Matthew warily.  “Welcome, to our kingdom, Commander.”  He bowed and departed just as Uncle Jonathan came up to Matthew.

“Can you believe it, Matthew?”  His uncle looked perplexed and delighted at the same moment.  “Never in my life did I think I would witness this.  It’s all she ever dreamt—” He stopped and closed his eyes.

“Control yourself, Uncle.” Matthew whispered. “This is not the time to explain to the
Queen
your relationship with her mother.”

“A time will come.”  His uncle said to him as they left the throne room to meet Geenessa.

“It is a beautiful kingdom, is it not?” Geenessa said with a smile. “It was built on the ashes of the last kingdom.  We have adorned it with emeralds.  We thought it was appropriate.” 

A castle of ashes,
Matthew thought as Geenessa guided them around the kingdom.  He tried to ignore the whispers and stares that were following him as they walked.  He sensed a coldness in the eyes of many of the people.

Geenessa seemed to sense the same.  “We have very few visitors, my lord.  The people are not accustomed to it.  Those who come here usually come to stay.” 

The kingdom seemed to be structured much like the other four kingdoms.  There were communities developed all around it where villagers had homes and built businesses.  She introduced them to many of the people.  Matthew and Jonathan saw many of their own amongst the faces.  It was becoming clear where the missing villagers had disappeared to.  Many greeted them warmly, but others kept their distance.  

Near the shores, he could see the knights of the kingdom’s guard training with Commander Zekiel at their head.  A memory came into Matthew’s mind as he looked at the guards with their black armor.  He could not remember very much of the events the night of Lucinda’s disappearance, but he remembered commanding a group of men in black armor.  They cleared the path for Lucinda to escape from the mob in the courtyard of the West Kingdom.

“Are there changing seasons here?”  Uncle Jonathan asked in disbelief, as he studied the vegetation turning from green to the autumn colors of yellow and orange.

“The kingdom did not seem to have any season at all when we first came.  We suffered from sporadic temperatures and weather.  It takes much power, but Lucinda has learned to control it. We experience all four seasons in rotation now, thanks to our Queen.”

“Unbelievable.” Jonathan whispered.

This whole kingdom is unbelievable.
Matthew thought.

Lucinda was occupied by the kingdom’s affairs, but Geenessa insisted that she wanted them to spend the night before she returned them home.

“It is strange, Uncle...being here.” Matthew said to Jonathan before they retired.  “Her kingdom is not yet legitimate. I feel that we are committing some sort of treason.”

Uncle Jonathan nodded.  “Yes, I thought the same.  Though, your brother will surely pardon us.” He said with a smile.  “We should make leave early tomorrow just the same.  We will report back all we have seen.”

“My lords,” Geenessa had appeared before them.  “I beg your pardon, but the Queen wishes to speak with you, Prince Matthew.”  His uncle raised one eyebrow at him as Matthew departed with Geenessa to a far tower connected to the castle.  Geenessa opened a door that led to a long binding black staircase.  “Just follow the stairs straight up, my lord.”  She smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek before departing. 

When Matthew reached the top of the staircase there was a single door.  He knocked gently before opening it and letting himself in.  Lucinda stood by one of four windows in the room.  There were no torches lighting the tower, but somehow light was shining brightly through it.

“This is the tower that came up out of the water seven years ago.” Matthew said in awe.  He approached her by the window.  In the distance was his brother’s kingdom, with the sapphires shining against the white stone.  Each of the four windows in the room, he realized, faced a kingdom. 

Lucinda turned to him and smiled.  “Yes, the light only leaves the tower when I leave the kingdom.  Geenessa told me that any time light shined through this tower in the old kingdom, it was a sign to the surrounding kingdoms that the Queen was there.  I thought it was a nice sentiment.”  Lucinda said to him. 

“It’s more likely that she only wanted her prince to know that she was there.  So he would be reminded that one day she would return to him.”  He said gently.

She looked at him with a solemn expression. “I have been selfish these past years.  It was unfair of me to leave the way I did.” She grabbed Matthew’s hand.   “It was unfair of me to save you from Narka and send you back to sea without any word.  I thought it was for the best.”

Matthew fought the bitter feelings he held.  She owed him nothing he reminded himself before he spoke.  “You appeared at the right time.” He thought of something then. “Why did you send me to the North Kingdom after Narka? Why didn’t you just return me to the West?”

She looked at him curiously.  “I asked the sea to bring you back to the West. It doesn’t always listen to me. There must have been a reason you were brought upon the shores of the North Kingdom.”

He thought of Prisma’s warnings. 
Not all those who pledge allegiance to the Queen truly mean it in their hearts.   A time is coming, where you may not mean it yourself. 
“You should visit the North.  Princess Prisma has been praying earnestly for your safe return.”  The thought of prayer made Matthew remember the abundance of prayer candles lit by each window of the castle; a representation of the One God.  “What god does your kingdom pray to?” He asked in confusion.  “I understand that the Ancient Queen believed in the gods of the elements.”

Her face became serious and her voice low.  “I do not wish to be like the old queen. The gods of the elements did her no favors.  She died by fire, her kingdom was stripped from the air, buried by the earth, and hidden by the waters.” She turned away from him.  “I find no comfort in believing in things that can betray you.  How do you draw strength in what can be manipulated by men?  My people are free to make their own choice, but they know what their Queen believes.  I find hope in trusting the unseen and the seemingly impossible.  I pray to the One God only.”  Matthew was touched by her words and fought the urge to embrace her. 
Her life is a testament to the seemingly impossible.
He thought. 

“How will I begin?”  She said suddenly with grief in her eyes.  “How will I approach the kings and ask them to recognize my kingdom?   I have made my kingdom off of
their
people.  It could be seen as an act of war.”

“Every person has a choice on which kingdom to live in, Lucinda.  They are not bound to one.  You will need to give an account of who from each kingdom have come here, but the people are allowed to make their own choice.  It will be difficult now, but you will pave the path for all your successors if you are successful.”

She said nothing for a moment.  “Nycilla paved the way for me, but lost it all.  Five centuries later, I fear she wants to rule again through me. Is that not what Thomas said?  She won’t be satisfied until she is the one true Queen.  Sometimes I feel as if she is haunting my castle walls, waiting for a time to appear again. Though she remains silent now.  Sometimes I don’t know if all my followers truly support me.  There are those who believed that the kingdom would not just be resurrected, but that Nycilla would return as Queen. I believe they think I am her.   It is difficult to tell who I can trust.” 
How will the people know the difference when the spirits struggle to tell them apart?
Thomas had told him. He pitied her as he watched her struggle with her thoughts, wishing there was a way he could comfort her.  “It’s believed that Nycilla never gained full control of her powers.” She said quietly.  “She lost control in front of the kings. That is when they started to plot against her.  My control will be tested as I continue to make myself known. I am stronger than I even know sometimes. I fear what I may do if I am opposed.”